Walking with Baby

Just a couple shots of Gaby & me walking around our neighborhood with Biet, in her Phil & Ted's stroller (the generous baby shower gift from my bosses over at Alias- thank you thank you thank you!). I truly love it's modern carriage design and, I can't believe I'm saying this about a stroller, feel both proud and cool pushing my daughter around town in it. I also wear Biet wrapped on me a lot of the time, and that feels just as cool. When Gaby takes the baby out for her morning walk- a daily ritual that gives them both time together & also gives me a quiet hour to myself- he gets all the ladies ooh-ing and aww-ing over what a cute Dad he is. And if he walks Nico & Biet together, forget it- it's a double cuteness whammy and women flock. So here we are, two stroller people (so weird but we're getting used to it).

Lisa in the Rain

Oh Lisa, I wish you lived in NYC! Look at how beautiful you look caught in an unexpected mid-summer rain storm! You don't get many of those in Los Angeles...



We were walking on the Bowery when the storm started. Instead of heading home when the skies opened up, we pulled out the camera and continued on. I am reminded of the many "photo shoots" Lisa and I would stage growing up. We would style hair, make-up, & wardrobe; I was usually the photographer & Lisa the model. Looks like we still got it.







I think that Biet liked the rain. When she's a bit older & a summer storm begins, we'll take off our shoes, close up the umbrellas, & brave the elements (It's exhilarating. I highly recommend it). Everyone on the streets will hurry to shelter, everyone except us. We'll run through Tompkins Square Park, barefoot & soaked in the hot summer air, and for a few moments, the park will belong to us alone. Maybe Aunt Lisa will be there to run with us..

an even better NYC

I am so PROUD to say that New York City just became an even better place to live & raise a child. Today, on the 42nd Annual Gay Pride march for civil rights, same-sex marriage is legal. I feel honored to be a New Yorker today.

The first wedding Biet will attend will be that of a same-sex couple when our dear dear friends Joe & Scott tie the knot in a beautiful East Village garden next month (I can't wait!). Now, finally, New York State will recognize it legally. I am amazed (as I'm sure my parents were when I was born 27 years ago) when I think of how different the world of my daughter's childhood will be from that of mine. Biet won't remember a time when it was illegal for two men or women to marry, just as I only read in history books of a time when interracial marriage was illegal. I guess that's just the nature of marriage: ever evolving.

I imagine Biet playing wedding with her friends (& future siblings, in time) one day and that the color, background, and sex of the children won't matter one bit. Everyone will be able to play, with no gender roles, no rules, & no judgement. NYC has always been a place of great acceptance, but now the final social prejudices are fading away. And today, we'll celebrate. I am so grateful & proud that this is Biet's home town.



Another little reason to celebrate today: baby girl just slept 7 hours through the night for the first time (!!!)

Naps

Once in awhile, in the afternoon, we open up the bedroom windows wide, call Nico onto the bed, put on a record, and take a nap. Biet usually lays on Gaby's chest. My very favorite is napping during a summer thunder storm, like today. The rumbling of rain & hail fills the apartment, the street noise is drowned out, and we rest, safe & warm, on our bed, as a family.

Auntie Lala

Another sister is in town.. Biet's Aunt Lisa, or "Auntie Lala" as she has already been christened by her nephew (we'll see which name baby girl prefers). I have a sneaky suspicion that "Lala" may be on the list of first words. I also have a slight suspicion that Lisa will one day be Biet's "cool" aunt, providing hip & exciting adventures and endless phone calls filled with advice. Once again we'll just have to wait & see.

Lisa was in the city for a whirlwind visit with us, and I already miss her so. We went thrift store shopping (I have dearly missed shopping for non-maternity clothes). We tried cupcakes from a new bakery (they were pretty good, but my favorites are still from here & here). We went on an emergency adventure at two in the morning to New Jersey & Brooklyn to rescue Gaby & his coworkers (they blew out their tire coming back from a gig) which involved a car seat, Junior's Cheesecake Factory, & a minivan full of Hasidic Jewish men.. long story. We made hummus. We got done up & went out to dinner. Lisa gave Biet her first bottle- a semi-successful attempt- while officially babysitting her for the first time. And we relaxed at home & talked & made food & took care of baby girl together. It was a truly lovely visit & I can't wait until we see her again this autumn. Oh how I love & miss my sisters.

A Father's Day Moonlight Picnic

Growing up, my Dad always told us three girls that the best gift he could receive on a holiday was something handmade by us. In lieu of a new shirt or tie, we would make Dad a painting or picture frame or home-cooked meal. That's just how we did holidays.

So for Biet's first Father's Day with her Papa, I contemplated making a little card for Gaby "signed" by her, but reconsidered. I want this to be her and her father's holiday. I want him to begin receiving cards as soon as she is big enough to make them. I want each year for his gift to be handmade, from the heart, & from her.
So instead of gifts, we celebrated with an all-day outing through the West Village that included a trip to the bakery, the record shop, & one of our favorite Italian dinner spots. Biet stayed strapped to her Papa the whole time.


Along the way, we spotted one of the street pianos (upright pianos placed in outdoor spaces all around NYC for public use by an amazing organization called Sing For Hope) and wandered over. A man sat down and started serenading Gaby & Biet, who both began dancing to the old-timey song, which started the whole street corner dancing, which elicited excited barking from Nico, which caused everyone to burst out laughing. Spontaneous corner dance parties: yet another reason why I love this city.



When we finally made it down Sullivan street to the restaurant, it was full (all 3 tables) & we were starving. So we ordered to-go & had a little moonlight picnic at the park instead. The air was summery warm and the city seemed so quiet as we dined alone in the park. It is a day I will not soon forget. And that memory is better than any card.

Dia de Padre #1

I love seeing Gaby as a father. I caught glimpses of it over the years with him & Nico, but seeing him & Biet melts my heart. She magnifies his best qualities. She looks just like him, and sounds just like him (yes she already has a tiny voice with which she sings in her sleep right along with her Papa) and hopefully she'll get his sense of humor too. I celebrate these things on his first official Father's Day. Happy Dia de Padre, Gaby. You make fatherhood look so cute. Xo

1 Month of Motherhood

I am proud to say that I have been a mother to lovely Biet for 1 month now. I am so in love with my daughter, and more in love than ever with my husband. When people ask me how it is to be a parent, the most fitting answer I can give is "normal." Is it exciting? At first, absolutely! Is it hard? Not terribly once you adjust your schedule. Is it magical? Of course, but life in this city always has been. More than anything, it feels truly normal and natural to have this little one around. Life has simply continued on as always, except perhaps a bit slower at times. That is one thing that motherhood taught me right away- life now runs by a different clock. Something that used to take one hour suddenly takes three hours to accomplish with a baby. Biet has slowed down the pace of our days, and its ok, its actually really good for us. We stop to smell the roses now, and to enjoy the season, and to adore our baby.

Here are a few other lessons I have learned thus far:

* When you're out and about, always take more diapers than you anticipate needing. Like ice at a dinner party, you will inevitably run out and need to go buy more (or as in our case as cloth diapering novices, need to improvise with anything made out of soft fabric).

* Never ever ever ever try to use those itsy bitsy baby nail clippers. They nick the tips of baby fingers, which results in bleeding & screaming & you feeling like a horrible mother. Invest $15 on small safety scissors instead. They work.

* Let your baby decide what makes them happy, not trends nor marketers nor tradition. Many products made for babies are not more useful than their simpler counterparts. Biet prefers olive oil over diaper cream, Bob Dylan over nursery rhymes, city sights & sounds over mobiles, and being naked over the cutest newborn outfits, any day.

* With a bit of practice, you can become a diaper master, able to change a baby anywhere! You learn to improvise everywhere with a baby in the city. I change Biet on the subway, on my lap, on park benches, cafe banquets, in taxis, and here on the stone chessboard table at the Soho playground:

Baby + Dog = Joy

Pastrami on Rye

On Biet's first trip to Katz's Deli, she:

*Met Gaby's "guy" who makes THE BEST pastrami sandwiches
*Watched her parents devour said pastrami sandwiches (along with matzo ball soup & pickles & bottled soda)
*Startled the whole place when she got hungry and decided to let us know (busboy: "that kid's sure gotta set of pipes on em!")
*Had her limbs compared to Katz's pickles
*Got the evil eye from the guy at the table behind us (picture below)
*Fell asleep on her papa's shoulder and stayed there until we got home

In 5 more months she'll be able to actually taste a little pastrami, but we'll be back before then because WE LOVE KATZ'S DELICATESSEN! (and I love their slogan too: "Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army")

Snapshots

The other evening, we headed way downtown to the lovely home of our good friends Tal & Yos. We grilled for hours on their deck & had a lavish summertime feast overlooking Battery Park & the Hudson. We were having such a good time that we forgot to take photos of our decadent supper party, but we did end up with these irresistible snapshots of Biet, taken inside of their apartment before the festivities began.

Oh yeah, she is 4 WEEKS OLD TODAY!!